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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, delivering a sermon at a mosque in Iraq. AP
Islamic dinar

Gold, silver and copper: Islamic State group to begin minting its own currency

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi says Western economies have “enslaved Muslims”.

THE ISLAMIC STATE group says its leader has ordered that the organisation start minting gold, silver and copper coins for its own currency — the Islamic dinar.

A website affiliated with the militant group has said late that its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has instructed his followers to start minting the coins to “change the tyrannical monetary system” modelled on Western economies that “enslaved Muslims.”

The posting says the order was approved by the group’s Shura Council, an advisory board.

After seizing large swaths of Iraqi and Syrian territory earlier this year, the Islamic State group proclaimed a caliphate, or Islamic empire, on lands under its control.

The group has also sought to implement its harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, and al-Baghdadi has proclaimed himself the caliph.

Read: Islamic State leader calls for ‘volcanoes of jihad’ in alleged new recording >

Read: 16-year-old Dutch girl arrested on her way to join IS in Syria >

Author
Associated Foreign Press
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